Anonymous promises more Israeli data leaks

Emma Woollacott, 19th November 2012

Following its assault on Gaza, Israel has become the target of millions of DDoS attempts, with claims that several hundred websites have been brought down.

Anonymous last week threatened to carry out the attacks if Israel's bombardment continued, saying: "Cease and desist from your terror upon the innocent people of Palestine or you will know the full and unbridled wrath of Anonymous. And like all the other evil governments that have faced our rage, you will NOT survive it unscathed."

Over the weekend, Israeli finance minister Yuval Steinitz said that Israel had fought off 44 million cyber attacks on government websites, launched from all over the world. However, he claimed the government had foiled the attempts of the hackers in all but one case, saying that its sites were all mirrored and could be replaced within minutes.

Anonymous, though, says it's been much for successful than that. It claims to have taken down nearly 700 public and private websites, including those of the foreign ministry and the Bank of Jerusalem, and to have captured the details of more than 5,000 Israeli officials.

It's now promising the release of another document twice as large.

It's also posted a statement denying that its activities amount to terrorism, and pointing out that the group has always been opposed to physical violence.

"Pro-Israeli groups throughout the world have grown from a foundation of Israeli/US propaganda and lies. They arbitrarily dismiss the apartheid system of racial segregation and oppression imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people," it says.

"The fact of the matter is, in the eyes of the media, only the United States and its allies are capable of labeling another state or organization as a terrorists."